Wednesday, March 23, 2011

It had been a while since I had gone out with the group and it was nice to see everyone and sketch in an area of town I don't often find myself. Architecture and buildings aren't really my thing, but it's a good thing to do from time to time, and being out with the group is a fun way to expand my horizons. I drew the pharmacy and a couple quick sketches of the group. I seem to be sitting on the roof of the building across the street, but I seem to alter the perspective to this aerial view from time to time. My butt was on the ground, my eyes were on the telephone pole...

Monday, March 21, 2011

I met up with our local urban sketching group for coffee then sketching, then for lunch at the Twilight Cafe, when we chatted and passed around our sketch books. The rain clouds threatened but withheld their store, and the sun even peeped out for a few minutes that day! It felt great to sketch outside for a change especially since I had such good company.

I sketched this familiar landmark in SE Portland. The sign has a certain charm for me, although I don't think I have ever been inside the theater. I see from their website that the theater has gone through several big changes through the years, from a vaudeville house in the 20's to specializing in family movies in the 50's, then to X-rated movies in the 70's and 80's. In 1993 it was renovated and started a new life as a venue for live music, as it continues now. I'll have to check out the inside sometime.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

The Portland Urban Sketchers met to sketch in southeast Portland in a neighborhood called Brooklyn. Wikipedia has some interesting history on the neighborhood: The area of the neighborhood was inhabited by Clackamas people before settlement by whites. The first white settler in the area of was Giddeon Tibbets, who acquired the land in the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850. He settled the area in 1851, building a family home and grist mill. Tibbets named the area "Brookland" due to the river, creeks, and lakes on his property. In 1868 Tibbets subdivided the property into smaller lots and allowed the Oregon Central Railroad to cross the property. The rail line and the subdivision quickly brought in a large number of residents to the neighborhood, which acquired its current name of "Brooklyn". The influx lead to the construction of a town square at the corner of Powell Boulevard and Milwaukie Avenue. In the 1890s, the neighborhood received an influx of largely Roman Catholic German-Americans. The neighborhood continues to bear the traces of this period today, with several older German-American businesses, as well as the Sacred Heart Catholic Church and the 1891 Johan Poulsen House.In the 1920s, the neighborhood changed drastically as a part of a city-wide construction effort. The construction of the Ross Island Bridge over the Willamette destroyed the town square. At the same time, many of the streams and ponds in the neighborhood were filled in. The construction of McLoughlin Boulevard (Oregon Route 99E) severed the neighborhood's connection to the Willamette waterfront. The construction of an overpass on 17th avenue also divided the neighborhood in two.

We had a good turnout: Bill, Marco, Kalina, Janene, Louise, Jill, William (a new sketcher!), Tony, Colin and Luna, oh and the girl who was biking past and sat next to Jill to sketch!

We started out at True Brew coffee shop on Milwaukie, but hurried outside to take advantage of the blue sky (that was more gray by the time I took photos).

Many of us sketched the Aladdin, but Bill decided to look the other way and capture the German-American essence of the neighborhood.

I found that a lot of folks were interested in what we were doing.

It was a loud place to sit and sketch, but I think we all enjoyed ourselves. It's always fun to sit as a big group and sketch, too. We definitely attract attention that way, too!

Me and Luna, the youngest Portland Urban Sketcher drew each other.

We found a decent vantage point from which to draw the Poulsen House.

Here are my sketches from the day:

for some reason some of them are turning on their side and there's nothing I can do to rotate them. They are uploaded the way I want them, but they flip on bloggers end of things. anyway, stretch your neck a bit to view these.

quick sketch, knowing we'd go to lunch soon

At the Twilight Cafe & Bar for lunch.

Poulsen house:

A great day for a sketchcrawl! Thanks everyone for making today a good day!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

The Urban Sketching Workshop is filling up fast! Only 8 more spaces available before you're on the waiting list! To secure your spot in this workshop, please email alannarandall AT yahoo.com to receive payment instructions and then send in your payment ASAP.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

I met up with Colin, Deb, Kalina, Vicky and Alanna near W Burnside this morning. We were expecting rain and cold but were pleasantly surprised with just cold. This sketch is of the Ringler's Annex pub which also happens to be where we met for lunch.

The 6th International USk Symposium

Join us in San Diego this August!

about Urban Sketchers

Urban Sketchers is a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising the artistic, storytelling and educational value of location drawing, promoting its practice and connecting people around the world who draw on location where they live and travel.
Sketchers from the Portland area share their drawings on this blog.

By making a donation to our nonprofit you'll be supporting the work of urban sketchers around the world and helping our community grow.

Our Manifesto1. We draw on location, indoors or out, capturing what we see from direct observation.
2. Our drawings tell the story of our surroundings, the places we live and where we travel.
3. Our drawings are a record of time and place.
4. We are truthful to the scenes we witness.
5. We use any kind of media and cherish our individual styles.
6. We support each other and draw together.
7. We share our drawings online.
8. We show the world, one drawing at a time.

The Urban Sketchers logo was created by Italian graphic designer Franco Lancio.